The Cincinnati Bengals host the Baltimore Ravens for Thursday night football this week as the NFL regular season enters its second week. The Bengals are coming off an impressive 34-23 road win against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and are 1-0. That got me thinking about their head coach, Marvin Lewis. I can’t believe that he is STILL coaching the Bengals.

Marvin Lewis has been the head coach in Cincinnati since 2003. He has had some good seasons but none of them have ended well. Lewis has never won a playoff game and is 0-7 in the postseason. The Bengals have only won 13 games over the last two years but somehow he got a 2 year extension this past January. That was a real head scratcher to me.

But maybe the Bengals front office and ownership know something that we don’t? Surely they must have higher hopes for their team than the “experts” in Las Vegas. They are the 21st ranked team in the NFL according to the odds to win the Super Bowl. Should I place this bet?

Lewis did win the Coach of the Year Award back in 2009. And he does have a Super Bowl ring from when he was an assistant coach on the Baltimore Ravens. Unfortunately though for Lewis, the fan base has grown frustrated with the lack of success in the playoffs.

The hardest position to fill in the NFL is the quarterback position. And since 2011, the Bengals have had that covered. Andy Dalton was drafted in the 2nd round and has been the starter ever since. Dalton might not be thought of as an elite QB in the media, but his numbers prove otherwise. Dalton has the 16th best QBR of all time. That is pretty damn good.

Dalton also has plenty of weapons around him too. A.J. Green is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Tyler Eifert is a top 5 tight end. And Joe Mixon is an explosive running back with a bright future. Defensively, that is supposed to be Marvin Lewis bread and butter.

Is this the year that the Bengals make a run at the Super Bowl? I think it could be. But no one else does. The Bengals entered the season with an over/under win total of 5 in Las Vegas. And keep in mind that is with 2 games against the Browns that have won only one time in the last few years.

Tomorrow night’s home opener will be a good test for the Bengals. They host the Ravens who blew out the worst team in the NFL last week. The Bengals are 1 point underdogs and I think there will be a lot of action on the Ravens. Can the fan in Cincinnati celebrate a 2-0 start to the season? I think so! Let me know what you think about the Bengals season and are you surprised too that Marvin Lewis is STILL the head coach?